Peeping into the Immortal Road

Chapter 49: First-level Alchemist

"Now I can refine Qi Condensation Pills by myself. This way, my cultivation level will improve much faster."

Ji Chang looked at the two round jade-like Qi Condensing Pills in his hands, and couldn't help feeling delighted.

However, in addition to being happy, Ji Chang couldn't help but feel a little regretful: "What a pity, this Qi Condensation Pill is only a first-level low-grade pill. For a cultivator in the middle stage of Qi Refining, its help may not be that strong."

Qi Condensing Pill is one of the most common first-grade low-grade elixirs.

It can assist the cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage to practice and improve their cultivation.

The main elixir sold in the pharmacy of Master Wang, whom Ji Chang was eyeing, was the Qi Condensing Pill.

"I am able to refine Qi Condensation Pills. My alchemy skills have reached the level of the lower first grade."

Ji Chang knew that he had now joined the ranks of first-grade lower-grade alchemists.

A first-rank lower-grade alchemist, he lived a comfortable life in the Cangyu market.

You can choose to open a medicine store in the outer city area like Master Wang did. Although you will be facing low-level cultivators, you can make a lot of spirit stones by selling at a low profit margin and in large quantities over time.

You can also choose to go to the inner city area and work in the medicine shops run by those immortal cultivation families, and enjoy a considerable salary and commission in spirit stones.

With such an option, Ji Chang naturally no longer has to stick to managing the spiritual fields for a living.

Although the work of managing the spiritual field is stable, it cannot provide Ji Chang with enough spiritual stones as he is about to break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining.

And now, with the improvement of his alchemy skills, a new way to make money has opened up to him.

Ji Chang decided that after receiving his monthly salary this month, he would resign from his position as manager of the spiritual field and then go to the inner city area to find a job in an alchemy shop.

The reason why he was so anxious was not only because the pill shop could bring him a huge income from spirit stones, but more importantly, he could purchase precious realm-breaking pills from internal channels at a more favorable price there.

Ji Chang knew very well that with the help of the Qi Condensation Pills he had refined, his cultivation speed would be much faster.

It would only take about a year for him to reach the peak of the third level of Qi Refining.

By then, he could try taking the realm-breaking elixir to directly break through the bottleneck and reach the middle stage of Qi Refining.

……

A few days later, in Lingtian Division, Deacon Qian looked at Ji Chang standing in front of him, frowned slightly, and asked in a deep voice: "Have you really decided to resign?"

Ji Chang nodded without hesitation: "I have thought it through."

The Lingtian Division, like the Fangji Division, is an official agency of Cangyu Fangshi. They each have their own responsibilities. The Lingtian Division is responsible for managing the spiritual fields of Cangyu Fangshi.

The Deacon Qian of Lingtian Division is called Qian Huacheng. He is from the same lineage as the previous Deacon of Fangji Division, both from the Qian family of Yulin.

According to the unwritten rules of Cangyu Market, the next deacon of the Lingtian Division will be taken over by a cultivator from the Cangling Chen family.

As the two giants who jointly founded and managed the Fangshi, the Cangling Chen family and the Yulin Qian family almost monopolized the right to appoint the deacons of the major institutions in the Fangshi. Outsiders rarely have the opportunity to get involved in the upper echelons of the Fangshi institutions.
The only exception was a wandering cultivator who married into the Qian family in Yulin.

After hearing Ji Chang's words, Qian Huacheng's face did not show much surprise. He knew very well that although the job of managing spiritual fields was stable, it would be difficult for aspiring casual cultivators to stay in the job for a long time.

He sighed softly, his tone revealing a bit of regret: "The bonus will be distributed in a few months. It might be better if you can wait a little longer."

Ji Chang heard this and shook his head: "Deacon Qian, I appreciate your kindness."

Seeing that Ji Chang was determined to leave, Qian Huacheng no longer tried to persuade him to stay.

He nodded slightly, took out a bag of spirit stones from his storage bag, and handed it to Ji Chang: "This is your reward for this month, keep it."

Ji Chang took the bag of spirit stones and immediately noticed that the weight seemed to be wrong.

His heart moved slightly, and he looked up at Qian Huacheng, but saw that the other party looked normal, without any abnormality. So he raised his hand to bow to Qian Huacheng, and then turned and left Lingtian Division.

After getting away from Lingtiansi, Ji Chang took out the bag of spirit stones from the storage bag again and opened it carefully to check.

As he expected, there were not just ten spirit stones in the bag, but twenty.

These extra ten spirit stones were obviously given to him by Qian Huacheng.

According to convention, he would receive an additional bonus on top of his fixed monthly salary every year based on the harvest of the spiritual rice.

But the spiritual rice has not yet matured this year, so I am not eligible to receive the bonus.

This is also the reason why Qian Huacheng had hoped that he could stay in office for a few more months.

However, to his surprise, Qian Huacheng actually gave him an extra bonus of ten spirit stones.

Recalling the experiences of previous years, if the spiritual rice harvest was good, one could receive a bonus of about 20 to 30 spiritual stones every year.

This year, he had only worked for half a year, and the harvest of the spiritual rice was still unknown, but he was able to receive a bonus of ten spiritual stones in advance, which was already quite good.

What's more, Qian Huacheng's action was considered to be breaking the rules.

For Ji Chang, it was naturally a favor.

……

Half a month passed quickly, and Ji Chang once again stepped into the bustling streets of the inner city of Cangyufang City.

During this time, he visited the inner city many times and collected detailed intelligence on several medicine shops.

After careful comparison, he finally locked on his target - Qiancao Pavilion.

Qiancao Pavilion enjoys a high reputation in the inner city, not only because of the high quality of its medicine, but also because there is an extremely powerful alchemist behind it.

This Master Mo Dan is well-known in the market for his outstanding alchemy skills.

Not only can he refine first-grade intermediate-quality breakthrough elixirs that can help people break through the bottleneck of the middle stage of Qi Refining, he can also refine first-grade superior-quality breakthrough elixirs that are needed to break through the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining.

Different from other shops run by immortal cultivation families, Master Mo Dan was a casual cultivator and had no disciples. As a result, Qiancao Pavilion was short of staff and had recently been recruiting alchemists.

This provided Ji Chang with a rare opportunity.

Working in this medicine shop, he can not only purchase breakthrough elixirs through internal channels to break through bottlenecks, but also hope to receive personal guidance from Master Mo Dan.

This is undoubtedly a rare opportunity for him.

Although Ji Chang can learn things secretly through his peeping ability, just like he had previously peeped at Master Wang Dan and learned the alchemy skills secretly.

However, learning by stealing is no match for receiving personal guidance and answers from others.

Not long after, Ji Chang arrived in front of the medicine shop. Looking up, he saw a huge plaque hanging above the shop with the three big words "Qiancao Pavilion" written in golden characters on it.

The doors and windows of the shop are carved with exquisite patterns. Through the half-open windows, you can vaguely see the neatly arranged medicine shelves and the busy shop assistants inside.

When Ji Chang stepped into the door of Qiancao Pavilion, his eyes were immediately attracted by the tall counter in the corner of the store.

Behind the counter sat a middle-aged monk, wearing a green robe and with a kind face, who was concentrating on sorting out the account book in his hands.

Ji Chang secretly guessed that this middle-aged monk should be the owner of the shop.

Ji Chang walked forward and raised his hand to salute: "I heard that your store is recruiting alchemists, so I came here to apply for the position."

(End of this chapter)